Vietnam forum

Sapa in January?

Joey82

Joined Travelfish7th July, 2011Posts: 13

Hi,

I will be travelling South through Vietnam next year and will be in Hanoi around late January. I was really looking forward to going upto Sapa but only just read about the climate and it sounds really cold at this time in the north. Has anyone been there in January? If it's going to be really cold i will probably give it a miss as i don't have room in my backpack for winter jacket! Please can someone advise : )

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daawgon

Joined Travelfish17th April, 2007Posts: 987Total reviews: 2

Jan weather in Sapa is really quite unpredictable, except that it probably won't be too warm! I've been there in March and also Oct - warm to mild with a great deal of fog. I suggest using those new tech layers that skiers use - snow is pretty rare, but it's not unknown. Also, follow the weather pattern B4 your trip - these days you can look ahead about 10 days. Beware of Tet in '12 - late January that year.

KenPeterson

Joined Travelfish8th July, 2011Posts: 1

Hi,
It is highly seasonal, with a subtropical climate in summer and a temperate climate during the winter. Temperatures in January and February are regularly around 0ºC. Coldest month, cloudy, foggy but not too wet. better from early days and gets worse to the later half of the month.January through March can be cold.

Nokka

Joined Travelfish6th April, 2009Location United KingdomPosts: 259

I was in Sapa in January 2010. The weather can be a little unpredictable. We arrived by overnight train from Hanoi - very early morning - it was pretty cold then. We had light fleeces and lightweight jackets, which were just about good enough. Later, the sun shone and it was fine for trekking - perfect in fact - we were able to eat outside etc. By night it came in cold again. I think we had electric blankets in our room. Next day was very misty, so the beautiful views were obscured somewhat. That's how it is, I guess. Was it worth it ? Yes, I would say it was - for me this was far preferable to trekking in extreme summer temperatures.